PHOTO PRINCIPLES / PRINCIPLE 20
Turn the phone.
Change the story.
We often hold a phone upright, but habit does not have to choose the photograph. Before pressing the shutter, name what you want to show: the height of a tree, the length of a bench or the relationship between them. Orientation helps you decide how much space each element receives.
Choose portrait or landscape orientation with a practical phone photography exercise. Compare a tree and bench, avoid common mistakes and plan your final use.
Orientation is not a subject category
A portrait frame is taller than it is wide; a landscape frame is wider than it is tall. Adobe uses this distinction for image orientation. The names do not restrict your subject: a person can appear in a horizontal photograph and mountains in a vertical one.
Do not confuse orientation with aspect ratio. Two vertical photographs can have different proportions. Choose the direction first, then check whether the intended format removes an important part.
One scene, two assignments
In the illustration, the tree grows upward and the bench stretches sideways. If the tree is the subject, try a vertical frame containing its pot and crown. To describe a place to rest, try a horizontal frame including the bench and its surroundings.
Do not judge only by how much fits inside. The extra garden area should explain something. Before shooting, complete the sentence “I want to show…”. Use that intention to choose between the photographs.
Make a useful comparison
Stand in a safe position and take a vertical photograph. Turn the phone without moving from that spot or changing zoom, then take the horizontal version. Check the saved files: the arrangement of camera buttons alone does not confirm the photograph’s orientation.
For a second pair, adjust your position to refine each version separately. Keeping these stages apart reveals what changed because of rotation and what changed because you stepped closer or sideways. No extra equipment is needed.
Inspect edges and breathing room
In the vertical frame, examine the top and bottom: do the crown and pot have space? In the horizontal version, inspect the bench ends and corners. Turning the phone often brings in objects you miss while watching the centre.
If a caption will sit outside the photograph, you do not need an empty area inside it. If text will sit over the image, allow a quiet area and check the actual layout instead of guessing.
Common mistakes
Do not choose vertical solely because it is comfortable to hold the phone that way. Do not make horizontal compulsory for every landscape. Avoid relying on “I will crop it later” when important details already touch the edges.
Cropping an existing photograph removes part of its image; it cannot reveal a view beyond the recorded frame. If you need two very different uses, capture both compositions on location and keep the originals.
When should you do the opposite?
A narrow vertical frame can deliberately show only part of a wide scene. A horizontal portrait can describe a person’s surroundings, a use discussed in Sony’s guide. An exception is useful when it supports your intention.
In our exercise, try a vertical frame containing the tree and just a small section of bench. Then make a horizontal version in which the tree remains important despite the extra surroundings. Neither version wins automatically.
Exercise: choose and explain
Make two pairs: first from one spot, then with a position refined for each frame. Choose one photograph for a story about the tree and another for a story about the terrace. Explain each choice in one sentence without using “prettier” or “better”.
Try this principle while photographing with Take PRO. The app interface is in English. The AI illustration shows an example scene, not a result produced by the app.